A Simple Approach

My father worked for Public Service Company ofnot want an employee to over extend himself and to
Oklahoma. He built the transmission lines that deliverdamage equipment or to suffer injury because of not
the electrical power to the substations and thenasking for help or trying to do the task too quickly.
spread through out the cities to deliver the power toPressure imposed by trying to meet unrealistic time
industry and to homes. He spent the last part of hisschedules may cause forgetfulness and risk taking
career as a serviceman in the small town of Carnegie.that the company does not want.
He read meters, changed out the street lights whenIt is the obligation of the company to provide the
they would fail, trimmed trees out of the power lines,specialized tools, the required personnel and the time
and maintained the local substations. During storms hefor an employee to do the job the right way.
would respond to reset the fuses to restore power to#3 Have the attitude to not take shortcuts and only do
whole sections of town. Most of the time he workedthe job the Right Way.
alone. He would call in for a crew from Hobart a townThe proper attitude is something that is hard to
about 30 miles away if the task was too extensive formeasure. It comes from the full history of the individual
him to cover by himself.including childhood, influence from fathers and mothers,
After he retired, I realized that he had never had ancommunity spirit, past work experience, peers, and
accident, and none of his crews had ever had ancompany influence. The attitude can be modified and
accident. Being a safety professional I was curious tochanged by daily events, pressures, current events
find out how he had managed to have a careerand distractions, but the main portion of the proper
working with high voltage power and never suffer theattitude is a more stable presence or resolve. It is the
injuries that so many others have had. He explained itperson consciously talking to himself and making that
to me in his straight forward manner.interpersonal promise that shortcuts are not
To Be Safe:acceptable. The promise is, "I know how to do the job
#1 Know how to do the job the Right Way.the right way, I have the tools to do it the right way,
Book Learning, On the Job Training, Class Roomand I am not going to accept doing it any way other
Sessions, Self study, Proctoring, Owners manualsthan the right way."
supplied by the manufacturer, Operating Procedures,The company may attempt to set the culture of the
JSAs, Step Back, 2 minutes for Safety, or any otherworkforce with safety programs, awards, threats,
method that imparts knowledge of the proper stepsposters, and other methods. These program efforts of
and the order for the proper steps, procedures, whatthe company are to be applauded but they are largely
can go wrong, things to do to prevent injury andineffective.
damage, precautions to take are necessary for you toWhat does work to change the culture of an
be able to do the job the right way the first time andorganization is for the managers and supervisors to
every time you attempt to do the task. When workingget out of the false role they have created for
with 168,000 volts you don't want to experiment tothemselves as boss and follow the lead of Mr. Walton
learn how to do something. There is no practiceof WalMart fame. He declared that his first duty as a
sessions allowed. You must do it right the first time.manager was to get out of the office and to see and
It is the obligation of the company to provide theinteract with the workers. "If you're a supervisor, get
training, the written procedures, the drawings, blueprints,out of the office and into the plant and learn about
the educational materials and the time for anemployees' and contractors' work, their lives, their
employee to be able to gain the knowledge required tofamilies, what drives them. Make it safe for them to
be able to do the job the right way.express doubts. Ask them where and how the next
#2 Have the proper tools to do the job the Right Way.injury can occur. My dad said to be a good safety
The proper tools are the ordinary hand tools and theman that I should ask a question of a worker and then
specialized tools that have been developed to doshut up and listen to the expert. Remember, safety is
limited but specific tasks. To improvise and try tonot about score cards or numbers. It is about people."
'make do' by using the wrong tool is an open invitationThis appearance and direct contact establishes the
for disaster. You may get away with using the wrongcredibility that management cares. That management
tool but the odds stack up against you when you trywants the workers to be safe and not be injured. That
to substitute even though you know better. Amanagement knows that to be profitable that injuries
screwdriver is only to be used to drive and removemust be eliminated. That management only wants the
screws; it is not a pry bar, a scraper, or a chisel. Aworkers to to do the job the right way and will no
ladder is the proper tool to use for gaining height toaccept shortcuts.
reach the work instead of climbing on equipment orOnly if the workforce truly knows that the only way
trying to stand on crates or chairs.acceptable is the right way without shortcuts can the
The right tools also include personnel and time. Yourculture be changed. This interpersonal reflection and
pride needs to be reigned in when it takes two peopleacceptance is critical to cast the "Only the Right Way"
to do the job the right way. The company likes for itsmindset.
employees to be efficient and to work hard but it does